Anyone else notice slower load times with the newest Windows 11 update (version 22H2)

[FluMusic]

I don't know what the update changed, but my daw loads up 15x slower, not exaggerating. Each plugin has some scan instance before it shows in the little loading bar, so every plugin takes longer than it did before and it has a cumulative loading effect overall.

I've also noticed my go to piano vst loads much much slower. Takes about 45 seconds, compared with 5 seconds before, to load up the main preset.

I'm soon about to remove the upgrade and downgrade back to what it was, and hopefully that'll fix it, because I can't stand longer loadings and I notice no other benefits to having this upgrade.

Has anyone else experienced loading time extensions or other glitches with this update? By chance if anyone knows why I'm suddenly loading so much slower for plugins and getting in the daw, well that'd be f'n awesome thx

[RunBeerRun]

I'm on Win 10, but I know very well that windows updates slows down a computer like no other installer/uninstaller.

Usually there's no way back besides a full reinstall, but sure, uninstalling an update is worth a partial try.

[GaryG]

Afraid not, Reaper still loads in seconds for me. I just tried a couple of VSTs that load big sample sets and they were just as quick as before.

Sounds like your disk access is compromised, don't know if the specific drivers on your system need updating due to the Windows update..?

I've only noticed a few little improvements that are hardy earth shattering but make the day to day a little smoother (folders on the Start menu, dragging to the task bar etc).

[FluMusic]

Sounds like your disk access is compromised, don't know if the specific drivers on your system need updating due to the Windows update..?

Hmm well wtf I don't like the sound of that. Odd though because 99% of my plugins load normally. I only notice it when booting the daw and when loading the cfx grand piano vst. There is a "cumulative update .net framework" update for 22h2 that is intalling right now, whatever that all means...see if that changes anything.

Btw I'm listening to your never to be repeated album/song and really enjoying it. You familiar with the side project from gybe called Set Fire to Flames? They released only two albums but it's always been a mysterious love of mine. Your stuff is giving me those lovely unnerving vibes

[FluMusic]

The words "generic multi core processor" pop up quickly before each plugin name shows loading while the daw is booting. do I maybe need to re-validate somehow which processor I'm using?

daw.jpg

[Jim Roseberry]

I'm on Win 10, but I know very well that windows updates slows down a computer like no other installer/uninstaller.

Usually there's no way back besides a full reinstall, but sure, uninstalling an update is worth a partial try.

Before installing a significant OS update, it makes sense to have a proper backup image file.
If the update causes an issue, you can quickly/easily get back to a properly functioning machine.

[Vocalpoint Studios]

Have no desire to even consider Windows 11 for DAW work at this point but one thing is certain - if/when I do move to 11 - it will always be from a position of bare metal install. If you want your OS to run as fast as it possibly can (AND your apps) - you need to know that any sort of "in-place" upgrade (where the OS overwrites itself via an existing install) will never be as fast and trouble free as an install done clean with no prior crap anyway on the system drive.

This also means reinstalling all apps and plugins and all the rest - it's a big job but worth it in the long run when it comes to speed and efficiency. This is also the reason that I never consider doing any big OS upgrade until a major new version comes along OR support for a current OS completely runs out. (Like Oct 2025 with Windows 10)

VP

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I briefly tried an in-place update last week and it was just outright refusing to install the 2022.09 update. I suspect that a .net update that got installed prior to 2022.09, somehow was preventing that update. I gave up and went back to Windows 10.

So, yeah, agree with Vocalpoint Studios there. If I do upgrade to Windows 11, it'll be fresh install. No in-place update. My thought was that Windows 11 was really more of an update to Windows 10 versus a new OS, and the pain could be avoided, but that was wildly optimistic and naive.

[Vocalpoint Studios]

My thought was that Windows 11 was really more of an update to Windows 10 versus a new OS, and the pain could be avoided, but that was wildly optimistic and naive.

The worst part about 11 is that it is simply not optimized for audio and seems to have even more overhead than before for really very little value. It's an OS designed for consumers and needs a lot more fit and finish. Windows 10 also took about 3 years before it really matured - so it's early days here.

WIndows 10 is so good, so mature and so solid for DAW work that I cannot see moving past it until 11 can compete. Could be a while.

Cheers

VP

[xphen0m]

My thought was that Windows 11 was really more of an update to Windows 10 versus a new OS, and the pain could be avoided, but that was wildly optimistic and naive.

The worst part about 11 is that it is simply not optimized for audio and seems to have even more overhead than before for really very little value. It's an OS designed for consumers and needs a lot more fit and finish. Windows 10 also took about 3 years before it really matured - so it's early days here.

WIndows 10 is so good, so mature and so solid for DAW work that I cannot see moving past it until 11 can compete. Could be a while.

Cheers

VP

I've been using Windows 11 since I built this system in June for audio production, and have had very few issues at all.

[BONES]

I'm on Win 10, but I know very well that windows updates slows down a computer like no other installer/uninstaller.

Really? I have never experienced that at all.

Odd though because 99% of my plugins load normally. I only notice it when booting the daw and when loading the cfx grand piano vst.

I have started having a problem with specific Ujam plugins, in that whenever I try to close a project with one of them in it, it crashes Studio One. It's only started since the last update and it's kind of annoying, but at least I don't lose any work.

Have no desire to even consider Windows 11 for DAW work at this point but one thing is certain - if/when I do move to 11 - it will always be from a position of bare metal install. If you want your OS to run as fast as it possibly can (AND your apps)...

Surely we're past that now? I mean, I just bought a new machine to use on stage and it's just a Core i5, I could see no reason to waste money on anything more powerful. It has to be more than a decade since I worried about any of that. These days I just install my applications and get on with it.

So, yeah, agree with Vocalpoint Studios there. If I do upgrade to Windows 11, it'll be fresh install. No in-place update.

I'd never even contemplate upgrading an OS, I just wait until I buy a new machine with it pre-installed. Both the machines I am using at the moment came with Win11, so that's what I'm using.

My thought was that Windows 11 was really more of an update to Windows 10 versus a new OS, and the pain could be avoided, but that was wildly optimistic and naive.

Every new version of Windows is just an update to Windows NT from 1993. The last significant work on the kernel was done in Vista. Since then it's all just updating what's there, improving the code to increase efficiency and improving the user experience. But it's all the same OS, which is why all your old software still runs on it.

The worst part about 11 is that it is simply not optimized for audio and seems to have even more overhead than before for really very little value.

That's not been my experience at all. I don't notice any difference beyond the way it looks, to be honest. It could be Win10 with a custom Windows theme as far as using it is concerned and with Stardock's $10 utility, it feels exactly like Win10 for me.

It's an OS designed for consumers and needs a lot more fit and finish. Windows 10 also took about 3 years before it really matured - so it's early days here.

Right out of the gate it feels way more polished than W10. I was really surprised how slick it feels. I was very reluctant to start using it but now that I've been using it for 8 months or so, I am a total convert.

WIndows 10 is so good, so mature and so solid for DAW work that I cannot see moving past it until 11 can compete. Could be a while.

Or it could have been a year or two ago and you'd never have known. It's all the same Windows, there is no reason at all W10 would be better at anything than W11. I hate the new GUI but I've got rid of it and everything else about W11 feels better to me. It's eveything you say W10 is - so good, so mature and so solid for DAW work (which is not the hardest thing I use my computer for anyway). I can run my Audient EVO8 with 16 samples of buffer on my new ROG Flow Z13 in W11. The best I ever got reliable performance under W10 was 64 samples. Make of that what you will but it makes it very hard to see W11 as anything but an improvement.

[Vocalpoint Studios]

I'd never even contemplate upgrading an OS, I just wait until I buy a new machine with it pre-installed. Both the machines I am using at the moment came with Win11, so that's what I'm using.

To be fair - yours is a completely different use case than most. If you are always buying your way to a new OS via new hardware - hardware that is specifically designed to get the most out of that new OS - I cannot imagine how that experience would not be good for you.

I am the 100% opposite of your use case - where I only begin to think about new hardware when my existing stuff is end of life and I have managed to pound every last possible minute of value from it.

And then when it is time to upgrade - I buy all custom parts and build my DAW from scratch including a highly customized (manual) install of the OS AND all the software. So my OS choice has to be reliable.

Now I am not about to argue for Win 10 for everyone (or against Win 11 for anyone) - but I will argue it for me since I despise technical and performance issues and would rather focus on my work and creative pursuits.

For every user such as yourself who probably would NEVER consider a rollback since you have a machine that came WITH Windows 11 - there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of others like our thread starter here that is clearly saying there is an issue with Windows 11.

Depending on the forums you frequent - it is very easy to find tons of threads from many more DAW user types, gamers etc that are complaining about Win 11 right now too. But almost no one is complaining about Windows 10 it seems.

Finally in terms of Windows 11 usage in the real (DAW) world - I have a fairly active group (say about 15) of pro studios and producers that I deal with regularly for my voiceover work and the OS mix is about half and half - 50% Mac and 50% Windows and to be honest - of the Windows gang that I know of - I am not aware of a single instance of anyone using Windows 11 at this time. And all of these guys are hard core DAW/Tech types that you would think would be all over it.

This tells me one key thing - when it comes to their actual daily computing tools - maturity and stability far outweigh new and shiny - especially from the working pro perspective where time is money and we need our stuff working day in and day out without any hassle factor.

Just a quick observation like this tells me where we are really at - at least in my little world. Win 11 will get better and will make its way onto more users' desktops but until I can actually confirm other audio pros actually using it - AND the troublesome threads on this and other audio forums about Windows 11 decrease dramatically - that really tells me all I need to know about Win 10 - for now.

Cheers

VP

[BONES]

I only begin to think about new hardware when my existing stuff is end of life and I have managed to pound every last possible minute of value from it.

I discovered many years ago that this is a false economy. I turn my computers over very regularly because a one year old computer is still worth good money, so you end up losing a lot less than you do if you hang onto it until it is obsolete. e.g. I just sold my last laptop, which I had for about 15 months, for only Au$125 less than I paid for it. Even the one before that, which I held onto for three years, only ended up costing me about Au$250 a year, or around Au$5.50 a week. Plus, of course, I have the added bonus of always being near the cutting edge of what's out there.

The trick is to buy something when you see a bargain, which is usually around the time the next generation of Intel CPUs drop. So you get a system that is still the current gen CPU when you buy it and usually still a current model device when you sell it.

And then when it is time to upgrade - I buy all custom parts and build my DAW from scratch including a highly customized (manual) install of the OS AND all the software. So my OS choice has to be reliable.

I stopped doing that more than 15 years ago, when I switched from desktops to laptops.

Now I am not about to argue for Win 10 for everyone (or against Win 11 for anyone) - but I will argue it for me since I despise technical and performance issues and would rather focus on my work and creative pursuits.

And yet you put yourself through the massive hassle of building your own system?

For every user such as yourself who probably would NEVER consider a rollback since you have a machine that came WITH Windows 11 - there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of others like our thread starter here that is clearly saying there is an issue with Windows 11.

There will always be people with problems. I'd suggest in this case it is a permissions issue and that he needs to get rid of anti-virus software and/or lower his security level in Windows. Or maybe his drive is encrypting and he is unaware of that? It definitely sounds like a changed setting, rather than an actual problem with W11, given that nobody else seems to have the same issue.

Depending on the forums you frequent - it is very easy to find tons of threads from many more DAW user types, gamers etc that are complaining about Win 11 right now too. But almost no one is complaining about Windows 10 it seems.

Sure but even if you there are a million people with problems, that is just a small fraction of 1% of W11 users overall. They are noisy but not really relevant.

I am not aware of a single instance of anyone using Windows 11 at this time. And all of these guys are hard core DAW/Tech types that you would think would be all over it.

The thing is, despite what you might want to believe, this industry is very, very conservative. People stick to what they know, they don't take chance son unknown brands or untried products.

This tells me one key thing - when it comes to their actual daily computing tools - maturity and stability far outweigh new and shiny - especially from the working pro perspective where time is money and we need our stuff working day in and day out without any hassle factor.

That's just being risk-averse, it has no basis in the relative merit of new or old. It's like people who think that because their car has all the latest active safety features that they are less likely to have a car accident, when road tolls show no decline in deaths or serious injuries.

Win 11 will get better

Define "better". Windows 10 hasn't got any better, they just kept adding little bits and pieces but its performance is no different than it was when it launched. Similarly, W11's performance is no better or worse because it's overwhelmingly the same code as it's been for years. Windows 8 was the last time we got any meaningful improvement in performance and everybody hated it.

[AdvancedFollower]

Well good luck to OP getting a solution in this thread. It's now about Windows 10 vs 11. It's only a matter of time until someone tells you to switch to Linux.

"GenericMultiCoreProcessor.dll" seems to be part of Waves plugins, so it's possible the slow load times have something to do with Waves. I would try running Waves Central to check for updates, and maybe completely uninstall and reinstall Waves.
Also check whether your DAW has some kind of plugin cache that can be cleared so you can do a complete rescan. Of course, also double check that all the VST paths are correct and you don't have any duplicates or unnecessary paths there. (Probably like most here) I'm not familiar with Mixcraft, so you might have better luck asking their support or posting in some Mixrcaft specific forum.

[Vocalpoint Studios]

This industry is very, very conservative. People stick to what they know, they don't take chance on unknown brands or untried products.

That's sums it up perfectly for me.

Continued success with Win 11.

Cheers

VP